![]() This way, grass blades have a chance to dry out before nightfall. Aerate the soil to prevent thatch buildup and to loosen compacted, poorly draining soil. Water long and sparingly (no more than once a week), early in the day. You can’t do much about hot and humid weather, but you can take other steps to keep the lawn healthy, dry, and less hospitable to the fungus. Fertilize carefully with a slow-release formula in summer months. Prevent Pythium BlightĪs with many lawn diseases, pythium blight is easier to prevent than to cure. The fungus thrives in water-logged, poorly drained grass. It also loves over-fertilized, alkaline (pH over 7) soil with high levels of nitrogen and low levels of calcium. ![]() It can travel on the blades of a lawnmower and on the soles of shoes. Pythium blight is easily spread by moving water and mechanical equipment. In these conditions, infected grass will quickly brown, wilt, dry out, and die. Dead patches of grass, circular or irregular in shape, can grow to be six or more inches across. It’s most deadly when the relative humidity remains above 90% for more than 14 hours, daytime temperatures stay above 85° F, and nighttime temperatures never fall below 68° F. Pythium blight causes the worst damage to turf in persistently hot and humid weather. ![]() In later stages, it can cause cotton candy-like fluffs of white or gray mycelium to grow out of infected turf. The Pythium fungus can make grass look and feel wet and oily. In more recent decades, however, this fungal lawn disease has become recognized as a problem for athletic fields and backyards, too. Bentgrass and ryegrass are particularly susceptible to the fungus. First reported in the United States in the 1930s, pythium blight was at first considered a problem only on golf greens. Pythium blight, affectionately nicknamed “grease spot,” spot blight, or cottony blight, is a highly destructive disease of turf grass. Pythium Blight: The Enemy Lying Within Your Lawn
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